Wokingham town centre, Twyford, Finchampstead, Silverdale Road and Hare Hatch are first in line for lower speed limits. Comments close at midnight, 9 November.
Wokingham Borough Council wants to lower speed limits in five parts of the borough, and residents have until midnight on Monday 9 November to comment. The proposals mix 20mph and 30mph limits. They are the first phase of a longer “Safer Streets” programme (Wokingham Borough Council).
The five areas are:
- Wokingham town centre and Norreys Avenue, treated as one town centre and suburban area
- Twyford, the village centre and the homes around it
- Finchampstead village, part of the village centre
- Silverdale Road, Earley, and the residential roads around it
- Hare Hatch, a set of rural minor roads
The council has also published the scoring sheet it used to pick them. It shows two places that scored as highly as the town centre but were held back for a later round.
How the five were chosen
The council adopted a new speed limit policy in January. It then asked residents and town and parish councils where limits should come down. That exercise ran from 2 March to 2 May and drew 1,911 suggestions from 841 people, the council said.
Officers grouped the suggestions into 76 shortlisted areas. Each was scored from 0 to 5 on six questions, so the top possible score is 30:
- evidence of a road safety problem
- the likely benefit for people walking, cycling and children
- whether it would encourage walking and cycling
- whether drivers would be likely to comply
- evidence of local support
- whether the scheme can be delivered
The full results are in the council’s assessment matrix, attached to the consultation.
What the scoring sheet says about each area
| Area | Score out of 30 | What the council’s sheet says |
|---|---|---|
| Wokingham town centre | 23 | Strong evidence from the number of injury collisions and resident engagement; a key route through the town |
| Norreys Avenue | 23 | Large residential area proposed to become a 20mph zone, around schools, a church, shops and doctors |
| Twyford, all roads | 23 | Whole village at 20mph, with two schools; start and end points still need thought because of Hare Hatch and the link to Charvil |
| Silverdale Road, Earley | 22 | Joins an existing 20mph limit outside a school; two large schools in the area |
| The Village, Finchampstead | 20 | Part of the centre to drop from 30mph to 20mph, around a primary school, park and sports facilities |
| Hare Hatch | 16 | Narrow rural through-roads with no footway, currently 60mph; strong engagement from residents |
Two things stand out.
Hare Hatch was picked with a lower score than places left out. It scored 16, one of eight areas on that total, and got 0 out of 5 for evidence of a safety problem. Whitegates in Earley (18) and Woosehill Spine Road (17) scored higher and are not proposed. The sheet gives the reasons for Hare Hatch: the highest possible score for local support, and a scheme that is “relatively straightforward” to run as a pilot on rural roads. The council says the first five were chosen to cover a town centre, village centres, residential areas and rural roads, so the results can be compared.
Arborfield Cross and California Crossroads tied for top place but wait. Both scored 23, level with the town centre. The sheet recommends both for a “second tranche”. Arborfield Cross is waiting on a review of traffic calming in the village. For California Crossroads, in Finchampstead, the sheet says a 20mph limit would support the California Crossroads scheme and could later take in nearby routes and schools such as the Gorse Ride estate.
What the council said
Cllr Adrian Betteridge, the executive member for active travel, transport and highways, said the evidence was clear that lower speeds in towns, villages, estates and rural minor roads improve safety.
“These initial proposals are a first step in a proactive, evidence-led programme,” he said.
He said residents had named speeding as a major concern in these kinds of areas during consultation on the Local Transport Plan in 2023-24. The council’s £41m Local Transport Delivery Plan is covered in our earlier story.
What it means for you
- To comment, go to the council’s Safer Streets consultation page, look at the maps for each area and fill in the short survey. There is a separate comment box for each of the five areas.
- The deadline is 11.59pm on Monday 9 November.
- Need help or a paper copy? The council says you can ask for a paper copy or help on 0118 974 6000, or at any borough library.
- This is not the final say. The consultation page lists a further stage of formal Traffic Regulation Order consultations from 4 January 2027. Those are the legal notices any new limit needs before it can be signed.
- If your road is not on the list, the scoring sheet shows where it came out. A strong score with a “second tranche” note, as in Arborfield Cross and California Crossroads, is the clearest sign of where the next round may go.
Current closures across the borough are on our roadworks and travel page.
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